THE POWER OF ATTITUDE…
The other morning I received two Whatsapp messages doing the rounds. The first was a video of a 97-year-old man who started doing sprints at 95 and now has two masters´ world records for sprinting. I was humbled (read: guilted out) and inspired at the same time, watching this man speak of the meaning he makes of his life.
The second was a text called Six Little Stories with Lots of Meaning.
And although I was amazed at the subtle ways the stories demonstrated how we show faith, trust, hope and belief in our daily lives without even knowing it, it was the last story that captured my attention.
It wasn´t that they are both stories about old men doing unusual things, it was what lay behind the stories that made them stand out.
They both had Attitude – an incredible, positive, life-affirming, can-do attitude. And it´s our attitude that defines the way we live our lives. Our attitudes give rise to our thoughts, which prompt the actions that follow. I have been reading a lot lately about how thoughts control actions, but these two stories made me think that we need to go back further than thoughts, or feelings even, as determiners of our actions. We need to go back to our fundamental attitude towards life. This is the very first building block on which everything else rests.
Observe yourself this week, and see how your attitude comes through in different situations. Then evaluate in hindsight how it influenced the outcome of each event. Did you get the outcome you wanted? Did it help you achieve your goal? Did it add something good to your life? Then think if it´s the kind of attitude that will get you to 80 or 97, living every moment to its fullest until those moments end.
If not, and living a full, positive life is something you would like, no matter how old you are or may become, think about how adopting a more positive attitude might help you change the way you view your world, and in turn, change the way you think, feel and act. Because, believe it or not, this will change your future.
If this is something you would like to do, here is a coaching tool to help you:
Is there one small change you can make this week that might kick off a change in your viewpoint? Like, saying “Yes, and…?” instead of “Yes, but…”? Right it down on a bunch of sticky notes and put them on your mirror, above your desk, next to your bed, in your cupboard, on the fridge, wherever, to remind you throughout your day to be conscious of how you are approaching your life in that very moment. All those consciously changed moments will slowly add up and you will begin to notice a change in outcomes. Once those changes are cemented in, move on to another small behaviour change and do the same thing.
Have a momentous week.
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